Kimberly Cheatle - The head of the Secret Service must now protect herself first
The Secret Service is a peculiar and murky institution. It has between 6000 and 8000 employees, who hunt down check forgers and white racists, secure events such as the Super Bowl, and protect all living US Presidents and their families. Particularly for the latter, the men and women with sunglasses and an ear button are known – but not always successful. Donald Trump, one of the most closely guarded people in the world, came close to being shot at a campaign event in Pennsylvania.
The Secret Service was on high alert
For the protection agents, the incident is uncomfortable for many reasons. The young would-be attacker managed to position himself with a rifle and clear shooting range 150 meters from the campaigning ex-US President. The Secret Service was already on heightened alert due to alleged Iranian assassination plans. There are now many open questions that Kimberly Cheatle, Director of the Secret Service, must answer.
Her agency is working with the parties involved on all levels to "understand what happened, how it happened, and how we can prevent such an incident from ever happening again," said Cheatle, after US President Joe Biden ordered an independent investigation of the incident.
Cheatle and Biden are old acquaintances
The 51-year-old Cheatle enjoys some degree of trust in the White House. She and the President have known each other since he was Barack Obama's Vice President and she did not step aside as a Secret Service Special Agent. In 2022, Biden appointed her head of the protectors. "We trust her judgment and advice," Biden said at her appointment.
Without experience and a proper dose of wisdom, Kimberly Cheatle would likely have been alone at the helm of this service, which produces unsavory headlines in neat order. Around 2012, agents on business travel in Colombia paid a visit to a few prostitutes. Or four years later, when someone got onto the White House Lawn because the Secret Service surveillance cameras were not functioning. The agents could not prevent the **attacks on John F. Kennedy and his brother Bobby in the Sixties or the shots fired at Ronald Reagan in 1981.
Mismanagement and budget cuts
A US journalist revealed years ago how mismanagement and budget cuts led to alarming security gaps, such as during Barack Obama's first term of office. The role of the Secret Service in the Capitol storm on January 6, 2020, when countless Trump supporters stormed the Capitol Building, is still not fully clear. Several agents showed sympathy for the rioting mob, and many of their text messages from that time have disappeared.
In a way, Kimberly Cheatle owes this day her job. Biden appointed her to lead the Secret Service to demonstrate a new beginning. The fact that she is a woman played a symbolic role at the time, but is now a topic of discussion again. On X, formerly Twitter, some people were not shy about criticizing that Trump was protected by women. The former martial arts fighter Jake Shields, for example, writes: "I don't even blame the girl, but the one who hired her." So Kimberly Cheatle.
Cheatle is the number 27th boss, but only the second woman, above all a Secret-Service veteran. With a sociology degree in her pocket, she went to the agency and began her career. At first in the department for investigating financial crimes, later on as a bodyguard. After a brief stint in the private sector at Pepsi, she returned to public service.
Kimberly Cheatle's Angry Trump People
The director now faces challenging weeks. On July 22, she will have to give a speech and answer questions at the House of Representatives, the US Parliament. Trump's Republicans have already announced a tough question session. Kimberly Cheatle herself admits mistakes but rules out resignation. "I am the director of the Secret Service, and it is my responsibility to conduct an investigation and provide our employees with the necessary resources," she said.
- The incident involving Donald Trump's campaign event in Pennsylvania brought additional scrutiny to the Secret Service, with Director Kimberly Cheatle facing questions due to alleged Iranian assassination plans.
- Despite facing criticism from some quarters, including Trump supporters, Kimberly Cheatle remains committed to her role as Director of the Secret Service, promising to conduct a thorough investigation into the incident and provide necessary resources for her employees.
- With the investigation into the Pennsylvania incident ongoing, and Trump's Republicans preparing a tough question session for Cheatle at the House of Representatives, the role of the Secret Service and its leadership is under intense public scrutiny.
